Mattress assembly



Feb. 2, 1960 G. B. HUME MATTRESS ASSEMBLY Filed Feb. 8, 1957 INVENTOA GERT RUDE B. HUME BY MW? ATTORNEYS United States Patent O i MATTRESS ASSEMBLY Gertrude B. Hume, Newton, Mass.

Application February 8, 1957, Serial No. 638,976 2 Claims. (Cl. 5 320) This invention comprises a new and improved mattress assembly designed to hold an uncontoured sheet of conventional flat type with smoothing tension in place on the mattress.

Contoured sheets having three dimensional contour at the head and foot have found great favor among housekeepers. The neatness and smooth appearance of such sheets is greatly desired but they are troublesome to launder and likely to be torn as well as commanding premium prices when purchased.

An object of the present invention is to equip the mattress with harness for holding an ordinary flat sheet under smoothing tension as perfectly spread and free of Wrinkles as any contoured sheet and to accomplish this desirable result without resorting to buttons or button holes or any modification whatever in the sheet itself.

I have discovered that these results may be secured by providing straps or cords secured in position to pass across at least a portion of the vertical edge faces of the mattress together with elongated connecting cords located' within and parallel to the side edge faces of the mattress in such position that the margins of a sheet may be wrapped about them beneath the mattress. necting cords are arranged parallel to the side edge faces and parallel to the transverse end faces of the mattress and are so located that the bedmaker may reach under the mattress and wrap the margins of the sheet about the connecting portions of the cord. The straps have no permanent connection whatever with the sheet.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of preferred embodiments thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figs. l and 2 are views in perspective of the mattress assembly shown in inverted position, the sheet being Vadded in Fig. 2,

Figs, 3 and 4 are fragmentary views in cross-section on an enlarged scale, and

Fig. 5 is a view in perspective of a modification, and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view of a modification.

As herein shown the mattress 10 is represented as being of conventional form having vertical side and end faces and at upper and lower faces. To the edge and end faces of the mattress are secured, preferably by stitching as indicated, a series of eight straps 11 of ticking or other suitable exible material. The straps are stitched to the mattress in approximately mid position of its side and endfaces so that they may with equal convenience be wrapped over whichever flat face of the mattress is to be the lower. In practice the straps will be of such length as to extend 3" to 6 within the marginal edge of the mattress.

Each strap has a looped end and through the loops of al1 the straps is passed a continuous cord 12 made endless and adjustably maintained under tension by having its ends secured together by a buckle 13 or other adjustable member.

The con- 2,923,014 Patented Feb. 2, 1960 lCC The general outline of the cords is that of an octagonal pocket. It has two longitudinal side portions parallel to the sides of the. mattress, two end portions parallel to the ends of the mattress, and four oblique portions extending approximately 45 across each corner and all lying freely upon the flat surface of the mattress. The straps 11 are arranged so that the cord 12 is located and maintained under tension beneath the flat face of the mattress which happens to be lowermost as the bed is made up.

When the inverted mattress as shown in Fig. 1 is turnedl right side up, a at sheet 14 may be spread as usual on its upper face. The bedmaker then reaches under the edges of the mattress folding and wrapping the free margin of the sheet tightly about the oppositely located portions of the cord 12. The oblique portions 12 are located so as to accommodate the fullness of the sheet as folded under the corners of the mattress. The straps and cord constitute a harness with the cord so located as to form in effect a pocket beneath the mattress.

In Fig. 5 is illustrated a modification of my novel mattress assembly in which straps 17 and 18 are secured at their points of intersection and form a harness fitting the mattress 110. The longitudinal straps each includes a buckle by which its length can be adjusted and they are so arranged as to provide elongated connecting portions located within and parallel to the side edges of the mattress in addition to transverse connecting portie-ns adjacent to the end edges of the mattress. It will be understood that the harness thus provided is symmetrically dis` posed in both faces of the mattress and that the straps again form a pocket about the sides of which a sheet or blanket may be wrapped and so securely held in place. If desired the longitudinal straps 17 may be connected by sheet material passing about the edge faces of the mattress between the transverse straps and in this way more stability is given the harness and it is prevented from becoming tangled when not in use.

In Fig. 6 is illustrated a further modification of my novel mattress assembly in which the usual mattress pad is included as an element. In this arrangement the straps 11' are secured at spaced points to the margin of the pad 20 which is thus held flat upon the upper surface of the mattress 10. rThe straps are of suflicient length to extend eneath the mattress and locate the cord 12 in the octagonal pattern of Fig. l. An advantage of this assembly is that both the pad and the lower sheet are held smooth in their desired positions upon the mattress. The bottom end of the top sheet may be also held in place by being wrapped about the cord 12 or 12 at the foot of the mattress.

Having thus disclosed by invention and described in detail preferred embodiments thereof, l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

l. A mattress having means for holding an ordinary flat sheet under smoothing tension, said means comprising straps secured to the side and end faces of the mattress approximately in mid position and being of a length sutlicient to lap over either the upper or lower at surface of the mattress, and an endless cord retained by said straps in octagonal conto-ur, spaced substantially within the marginal edge of the mattress and free from its flat surface, whereby the marginal and corner portions of a at uncontoured sheet may be wrapped about the cord beneath the mattress.

2. A mattress having means for holding an ordinary flat sheet under smoothing tension, said means comprising a plurality of straps secured to the mattress in position to extend inwardly over the fiat under surface thereof, and an endless cord fastened to the inner ends of the straps and held by them with portions located parallel to the side edges of the mattress in position to receive the free margins of a flat uncontoured sheet.

References Cited in the ile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 4 Bloomfield Dec. 15, 1931 Karr Jan. 19, 1932 Mulloy Jan. 30, 1940 Waranch Apr. 3, 1945 Spiro Oct. 12, 1948 Block et a1. July 25, 1950 Black Oct. 2, 1951 Zacks Dec. 24, 1957 Tux 

